People are gross, film at 11.

So something weird happened on Neopets this weekend where the filters broke (which prevent you from typing swear words, slurs, or anything non-kid-appropriate like "kill"), and the mods (who are there 24/7 to delete threads where people use word combos to get around the filters or post about inappropriate things like politics that are banned per the site rules) are apparently also not there.

Apparently this was the cue for people to go crazy and start spamming the boards with nonsensical vulgarity, naming new pets with every racial slur and sexually explicit thing they could think of, swearing up a storm, and somehow convincing themselves that this means Neopets is over and/or there will be no consequences (i.e. getting all of their accounts and pets deleted). Tumblr has also apparently convinced a wave of people to log into accounts they haven't visited in years in order to join in on the swearing fun. Because LOL WHAT'S MORE FUN THAN VIRTUAL GRAFFITI??

One person's response to a voice of reason was "if the filters weren't so strict, people wouldn't be going crazy now that they're gone."

Ah yes, the old "drinking age abolition" argument. Totally applicable here. Clearly if there were no filters in place, Neopets would be just like Tumblr is today, where people only swear on occasion for emphasis, and never post NSFW content.

The Neopets tag on Tumblr is literally 90% "OMG LOL this is so hilarious hahaha!", celebration that "now we can talk normally," and general mockery of anyone saying, "hey, this is gross plz stop."

I just need someone to validate my feelings that this is sort of response is absolutely ridiculous and there is absolutely nothing wrong with creating a space on the internet where you're not allowed to talk about real life or use any words that would not be appropriate for an elementary school teacher to say in class.